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It used to be that women athletes were exceptions.
In order to exist at all they had to prove they were good enough to be the one woman who could train with the men. They had to sue for opportunities to play. They had to practice in old jerseys and in run-down gyms. They had to work full-time jobs on top of their full-time jobs to pay for the sport that defined them. They had to let the jokes about their bodies and their talent on sitcoms and Saturday Night Live and in school hallways roll off their backs. They had to sneak into men’s only races, or start their own sports leagues, or file lawsuits against federations that paid them less just because of their gender.
But none of the powerhouse athletes in this issue knew a time when women’s sports were nonexistent, or against the rules, or banned altogether. Title IX and the Battle of the Sexes were ancient history by the time they were all joining their first toddler gym classes. Serena and Venus Williams were already household names and the ’99ers had proven that women’s soccer could pack stadiums and make Sports Illustrated covers in time for these girls to hang their posters on their childhood bedroom walls.
Today, all of those exceptions have made way for a generation of women athletes to come pouring through that shattered glass ceiling—and these women are pushing the sports world, and culture in general, forward with abandon.
Just having women athletes to look up to was enough for some of these women to pursue sports themselves. When Suni Lee was 6, she watched clips of the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team endlessly, then tried to mimic the moves she saw at home. “I started breaking stuff and doing flips on the bed, and finally my mom got sick of it and just put me in gymnastics,” says Lee. Today she has six Olympic medals, including an all-around gold in Tokyo.
Suni Lee was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by OYE Swimwear. Swimsuit embroidered by Abbode. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Those same ’08 Games are a vivid memory for heptathlete Anna Hall. Since her dad coached track and field, Hall and her sisters gathered around excitedly to watch every event. They saw a young Allyson Felix shine, but another moment caught her attention, too: when Lolo Jones, the favorite for the 100-meter hurdles, clipped a hurdle and lost her lead, missing out on the podium altogether. “I think seeing everyone’s reaction to something bad happening at the Olympics made me realize how big it was,” Hall says.
And that bigness called to her. “That was when I was first like, O.K., this is what I want to do. I’m gonna go there. It just felt really important.” She was only 7 at the time, but this past summer, at 23, Hall made that dream come true in Paris, representing Team USA in the heptathlon.
When Jordan Chiles was first starting in gymnastics, she idolized Shawn Johnson and was told she could be the next Gabby Douglas. Before long, she was competing alongside some of her idols. “I was the youngest national team member, so I was able to see the dedication and passion they brought to the sport,” Chiles says. She has been embraced by the older generation and pushed the new generation forward, as a two-time Olympic medalist with a flair for tattoos and pop music. Her collegiate floor routines have become consistently viral videos, and in March she was named one of Time’s Women of the Year.
Ali Truwit was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by HAUS OF PINKLEMONAID. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
While earlier generations of women athletes often had to hide their love for sports or their burgeoning athleticism because even their own families would call it unladylike, Gen Z athletes were often raised by parents who wanted to enjoy sports with their kids. Freestyle skier Eileen Gu’s mom first put her in ski school at Lake Tahoe when she was 3. “Mom really loved to ski, so she would drive four hours away to Tahoe,” says Gu. “And I’m an only child, so she thought ski school was better than babysitting, because I got to be athletic and socialize with other kids.” Her mom gets to ski a lot more now, because she accompanies Gu, 21, around the world while she competes. This year, Gu, who has two Olympic gold medals, added to her haul by capturing her 18th World Cup event, making her the winningest free skier ever—woman or man.
Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by MBM Swim. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Cameron Brink, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, knew basketball was a possible career path long before she started playing at age 12. Brink’s mother worked at Nike, bringing in the first era of female basketball players to the brand. “You can feel a shift, when you have those women to look up to,” says the Los Angeles Sparks forward. “Playing basketball for a living is a huge privilege, but none of this would have happened without the women before us.”
As the children of two professional tennis players, Nelly Korda and her two older siblings were encouraged to be athletic. “I started playing sports when I started walking, it’s just always something I’ve done. But our parents didn’t want us to feel like we had to play tennis, they wanted us to find what we were passionate about,” Korda says. It was her older sister Jessica’s interest in golf that got Korda and the rest of the family on the green. “Golf was a game we could all do together. You can be chill and have fun, and then if you are serious it can be intense,” she says. Soon enough, Korda followed in her sister’s footsteps and took golf very seriously, joining the LPGA tour at age 18. Today, she’s the top-ranked women’s golfer in the world.
Caroline Marks was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by It’s Now Cool. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Becoming an elite athlete wasn’t on Gabby Thomas’s radar as a child. But she was encouraged by her mom to try any sport she wanted: horseback riding, basketball, tennis, gymnastics and soccer. “Sports became a strong part of my identity and shaped who I am,” Thomas says. Ultimately her speed got her a scholarship to Harvard, and ultimately a professional and Olympic career.
Raised in Florida, Caroline Marks was most comfortable in the ocean. She also loved to hang out with her older brothers. So when they learned to surf, she followed. She won her first big trophy at an amateur competition in California. “I just remember getting this big trophy and thinking, This is the best thing ever. I just did what I love to do the most and regardless of where this is going to go, I just never want to stop doing this. Surfing is gonna be a part of my life forever,” she says. So far, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist has continued to find that joy and success on the waves.
Ali Truwit grew up in the water, too. But for her, it was a pool in Connecticut. She was a swim team kid who was constantly surrounded by competitive swimmers, some of whom would become Olympians. “I would always use them as inspiration,” Truwit says. The joy she felt in the water is what kept her training, which ultimately secured her a spot on Yale’s swim team. Just days after her college graduation, though, a shark attacked her and a friend while they were snorkeling and Truwit became a lower-leg amputee. But the empowerment and joy she’d found in the pool helped her embrace her body. “There were all these unknowns about what life without a limb is like, but swimming was such a valuable tool for me, because it was something that I could reclaim,” she says. Just a year after her accident Truwit was competing at the highest level—winning two medals at the 2024 Paralympics.
Gabby Thomas was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by GIGI C. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
When Toni Breidinger was a kid in northern California, she tried gymnastics, piano and a bunch of other activities, but nothing really stuck. When her dad saw a billboard on the side of the road in Sonoma advertising a racetrack, he thought he would take Toni and her twin sister, Annie, to try a go-kart class. She was immediately hooked. They raced go-karts until Toni was 15, when she started to get opportunities to try out race cars. The thrill of driving, and winning, kept her moving up through the sport. Today, Breidinger holds the record for the most top-10 finishes in any NASCAR circuit by a woman, with 27.
The women athletes coming up today are fully cognizant of how far the sports world has come, and how far there still is to go toward gender equality.
In the traditionally male-dominated world of professional surfing, Marks got to compete in the first event to offer equal prize money for the men’s and women’s winners, at the 2019 Boost Mobile Pro in Australia. “I used to go out and there used to be hardly any girls just surfing, but now it’s like just as many girls are out there as guys,” she says.
Anna Hall was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
The same thing is happening in other sports, as women’s purses catch up to men’s. But these athletes are anything but content, and it’s about more than money. Korda wants to see women’s golf on prime-time TV. Breidinger is hosting events for girls to get more women drivers to join her in NASCAR—she’s the only one in the Craftsman Truck Series this year, out of 35 drivers. And Truwit hopes the representation for amputee athletes increases with the explosion in coverage of women athletes in general. “The more you see people with differences doing these amazing things, the more you can see yourself in those places, too,” she says. “There’s still so much room to grow.”
Toni Breidinger was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Last June, Brink tore her ACL, ending her rookie season early. But undergoing surgery and doing rehab for the better part of a year gave her time to think about the WNBA in a big-picture way. “None of this would have happened without Sheryl Swoopes and all those women who came before. My rookie class, we say the same thing: We want the girls after us to have it even better,” says Brink.
How? Brink has her eye on salary increases and better benefits. And since endorsements are where most players make significant money, she hopes more diverse players get the kind of recognition she and her peers have. “Where are the endorsements for [the vets]?” says Brink. “Especially my teammates that are Black, that are gay, that use they/them pronouns. There’s a privilege that some of the rookies have in being younger and coming in at a good time, and a privilege of looking a certain way. There are women in the league that deserve more recognition, it’s just that simple: They deserve more.”
Jordan Chiles was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by I.AM.GIA. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Women athletes dominated headlines and medal podiums last summer in Paris, a trend that has been brewing for the past several Olympics. In 2024, women made up 50% of the athletes at the Games for the first time in history. But the gymnasts and track stars there, who usually get their moment on a Wheaties box once every four years, also started to notice a more sustained interest than before.
Cameron Brink was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Tinye Swim. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
Thomas, who was featured heavily in Netflix’s docuseries Sprint in the lead-up to the Games and then went on to win three gold medals in Paris, sees this momentum as fuel (a public health professional, she also works part-time at a volunteer health clinic in Austin, Texas, where she trains). “It’s so helpful and motivating for me to be in an era of sport like this, where women have so much purpose and we’re fighting for so much more than just what’s on the field or the track,” Thomas says. “It’s about making a difference to increase access and equity in our sport. That’s such a great moment to be part of.”
Lee and Chiles embody the change in what it means to be a gymnast today. When Lee was first starting out, she was shocked by how serious competitions were. Strict, abusive coaching styles were all too common, and the athletes were forced into harmfully rigid ideas about their bodies and how they should look. Few gymnasts had careers once they went through puberty. “Being a gymnast in a lot of people’s eyes was a white girl with a ponytail and I didn’t look like any of them,” says Chiles.
Nelly Korda was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Laquan Smith. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated
In the past decade, however, national team members have bravely spoken out about the abusive coaching and environments they experienced, and the U.S. team has gotten older, stronger, healthier and more competitive. “I’m definitely stronger now than I was when I was younger,” Chiles says. “And I’ve accepted the fact it’s O.K. to be older in this sport.” Fans certainly have embraced that. At the Paris Games Lee says she felt like a rock star. “It was just the best feeling in the world to see that people actually cared about it,” she says.
The freedom, joy, and support enjoyed by today’s U.S. gymnasts has undeniably made the sport more fun to watch, and Lee wants that for all women athletes. “I feel like right now women are dominating in sports,” she says. “It’s such an amazing thing to see and it’s so exciting to watch. I feel like it can only get better from here.”
The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
Long Beach State men’s volleyball fans got their first look at the defending national champions on Friday, as the Beach hosted their annual North American Challenge with the first of two pairs of matchups against Alberta and Calgary. First-year head coach Nick MacRae used the games as an opportunity to get everyone involved, as the Beach defeated Alberta 3-1 in the afternoon before sweeping Calgary 25-10, 25-14, 25-23.
“This is a big-time jump start for our season with bringing down Calgary and Alberta [from Canada],” MacRae said. “We have a great relationship with both teams, and they’re going to help challenge us and give us a lot of lessons to learn as a staff and a team. You saw two different matchups today with two different lineups, and a lot of guys going through growth while always trying to flex our Long Beach brand.”
The second lineup against Calgary featured a handful of familiar returning starters from last year, including senior star Skyler Varga, who was deemed Player of the Game and led the match with 13 kills on an efficient .500 hitting. Alex Kandev and Daniil Hershtynovich each chipped in seven kills apiece, as the Beach hit a collective .431 on the night.
The two matchups also provided an opportunity for fans to get a look at a couple of standout freshmen, including Long Beach native and 6-foot-10 middle Jackson Cryst, who was in on four blocks against Calgary. Earlier in the day, freshman Wojciech Gajek won Player of the Game with a 16-kill performance against Alberta, while freshman Myles Jordan also had a solid debut with six kills.
The Beach will be back in action on Sunday with another double header, taking on Calgary at 10am before facing Alberta at 5:30pm.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Tread Rosenthal and Trevell Jordan were up for a block against NJIT Highlanders Andrew Fedmasu during an NCAA mens’ volleyball game on Friday.
The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team scored the first five points and never looked back in its season-opening sweep of the New Jersey Institute of Technology tonight.
UH never trailed in a 25-11, 25-16, 25-14 romp before a boisterous turnstile crowd of 5,685 at Bankoh Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
It was evident from the start that the Highlanders were not at the level of the Rainbow Warriors, who are ranked No. 2 nationally in the coaches preseason poll.
The opening salvo displayed just part of the Warriors’ wide array of weaponry. It started with Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski kills, followed by Tread Rosenthal’s first ace, a block by Justin Todd and Titriyski and then Rosenthal’s second of his team-high three aces.
After NJIT settled down a little, UH middle Trevell Jordan got into rhythm with his first kill, followed immediately by a combo block with Rosenthal, putting Hawaii ahead 9-3.
Titriyski led UH with 12 kills, including four in the first set. He also had two aces.
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Hawaii hit .517 to .045 for the visitors.
UH’s setter, Rosenthal, also led the block party, in on eight of his team’s 13.5. NJIT had no blocks. The Warriors had 10 in the first set alone.
Andre Aleixo led NJIT with 10 kills.
The Highlanders kept it close with three ties to start the third set, but then the Warriors strung together one of Roure’s eight kills with two blocks by Finn Kearney and Ofeck Hazan go ahead 6-3.
This was the first of eight home matches to start the season for UH.
The same teams meet Sunday, with first serve at 5 p.m. The Warriors will receive their 2025 Big West championship rings after the match.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ten BYU football players received Phil Steele postseason honors today, including five who were named All-American among 10 who received Big 12 All-Conference recognition.
All-American honorees include safety Faletau Satuala, who was named second team, and running back LJ Martin, who was a third-team selection. In addition, linebacker Jack Kelly, center Bruce Mitchell and safety Tanner Wall received honorable mention honors.
SATUALA, a 6-4, 210-pound sophomore from Bountiful, Utah, was previously named second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. He played in all 14 games for No. 12-ranked BYU, leading the Cougars in tackles (84) and forced fumbles (2) and was third on the team in interceptions (3) and tackles for loss (7.5). He was also previously named All-Big 12 First Team by Sports Info Solutions and All-Big 12 Third Team by the conference coaches.
MARTIN was previously named second-team All-American by Pro Football Network as well as Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year and first team Big 12 by the conference coaches. In addition, he was named first-team All-Big 12 by both Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior from El Paso, Texas, led the Big 12 in yards rushing (1,305), yards per game (100.4) and all-purpose yards (1,560). He was also second in the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns (12).
KELLY was previously honored by the Big 12 coaches as first-team All-Big 12 and received honorable mention honors as Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-2, 240-pound senior captain from Kearns, Utah, finished the regular season third in the Big 12 in sacks (10), fourth in tackles for loss (13.5) and tied for fifth in forced fumbles (2). He was also previously named to the Pro Football Network All-Big 12 Third Team.
MITCHELL was also honored by the Big 12 coaches as first-team All-Big 12 and honorable-mention Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was also named Pro Football Network first team All-Big 12 and to the 2025 Pro Football Focus All-Big 12 Football Team. The 6-4, 305-pound junior from Kearns, Utah, was on the midseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy and was the sixth-highest graded center in the country during the regular season by PFF. He was also twice named to the PFF National Team of the Week at center.
WALL, a two-year captain, helped lead BYU to a 25-4 record as the starting safety. He was previously honored as first-team All-Big 12 by the conference coaches. The 6-1, 205-pound senior from Arlington, Virginia, finished the year second on the team in tackles (71) and interceptions (4). In September, Wall was named to the prestigious 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team by the American Football Coaches Association. He was also a finalist for both the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy and the Pop Warner College Football Award and was a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.
PHIL STEELE BIG 12 ALL-CONFERENCE Phil Steel first team Big 12 All-Conference selections included Kelly, Martin, Mitchell, Satuala and punt returner Parker Kingston, who was also named second-team All-Conference at wide receiver. Wall was also named to the All-Big 12 Second Team.
Third-team honorees included long snapper Garrison Grimes and defensive tackle John Taumoepeau, while fourth-team selections included linebacker Isaiah Glasker and cornerback Evan Johnson.
First Team – LJ Martin (running back) – Bruce Mitchell (center) – Jack Kelly (linebacker) – Faletau Satuala (safety) – Parker Kingston (punt returner) Second Team – Parker Kingston (receiver) – Tanner Wall (safety) Third Team – John Taumoepeau (defensive tackle) – Garrison Grimes (long snapper) Fourth Team – Isaiah Glasker (linebacker) – Evan Johnson (cornerback)
The top high school volleyball players in the state regardless of class are featured in the AL.com Super All-State team.
The team was compiled by the AL.com high school sports staff with input from coaches.
AL.com named Player of the Year, Attacker MVP, Setter MVP, Defensive MVP and Coach of the Year. Award winners are listed separately, but considered part of the Super All-State team.
AL.COM SUPER ALL-STATE VOLLEYBALL TEAM
(Players listed alphabetically)
Ava Bartlett, Addison, 5-11, Jr., Middle
Bennett Boulo, St. Paul’s, 5-10, Sr., Setter/Right Side
Kendall Buckley, Bob Jones, 6-0, Sr., Outside Hitter
Millie Burgess, Vestavia Hills, 6-1, Sr., Outside Hitter
Mary George Vandergriff, Guntersville, 5-8, Sr., Setter
Elise Wheeler, Pleasant Valley, 5-9, Jr., Setter
Bea Wiggins, Spain Park, 5-11, Sr., Outside Hitter
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
McGill-Toolen’s Alice Wood sets the ball during a 2025 match. (Erin Nelson Sweeney)Erin Nelson Sweeney
Alice Wood, McGill-Toolen
5-9, Jr., Setter
ATTACKER MVP
Daphne’s Ella Lomax attacks during a 2025 match. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com)Dennis Victory
Ella Lomax, Daphne
5-11, Sr., Outside Hitter
DEFENSIVE MVP
Thompson’s Kenzly Foote readies for play against McGill-Toolen during the AHSAA Class 7A volleyball state championship at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com)Dennis Victory
Kenzly Foote, Thompson
5-7, Sr., Defensive Specialist
SETTER MVP
Spanish Fort’s Cailyn Boykin sets the ball against Hazel Green during the AHSAA Class 6A volleyball state championship at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com)Dennis Victory
Cailyn Boykin, Spanish Fort
5-8, Jr., Setter
COACH OF THE YEAR
Cherokee County coach Tiffany Rieger walks to receive the trophy during the AHSAA Class 4A volleyball state championship at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com)Dennis Victory
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M volleyball’s Maddie Waak signed her first professional contract with Major League Volleyball’s (MLV) Atlanta Vibe, the organization announced Saturday.
Coming off the Aggies first NCAA national title, Waak was signed to Atlanta’s roster ahead of the 2026 MLV season. The setter directed the Maroon & White’s explosive offense, as she paced the nation in assists per set at 11.50 and ranked third in overall assists with 1,357 which earned her AVCA Third Team All-America honors.
“I’m so proud of Maddie [Waak] and can’t wait to watch the start of her pro career,” head coach Jamie Morrison said. “It’s been a goal of ours since I joined the program to help players reach the next level of the game following college, and I know Maddie will do incredible things in Atlanta. She has developed into an elite setter and all-round player and will thrive in the MLV.”
The Katy, Texas, native orchestrated the most efficient offense in Texas A&M history, as the group hit at .297 percent as a unit which was a program record. Her 1,357 assists and 11.50 dimes per set both rank as rally-scoring records, while she became the first Aggie since 2019 to log back-to-back 1,000 assist seasons. Waak’s consistency was on full display throughout the 2025 campaign, as she eclipsed 40 assists 19 times, 50 assists six times and set her career high of 63 versus Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
Her versatility is what separated her from other setters in the country, as she set single-season career highs in all facets of the game. Offensively she recorded 59 kills and 34 aces, while on the defensive end she registered 238 digs and 50 blocks.
Waak’s impressive performances with the Aggies earned her a plethora of honors to go with her All-America nod, including becoming an All-Region selection, All-SEC First Team member, NCAA Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team pick and five-time SEC Setter of the Week.
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